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Age (Era)
An Age (sometimes called an Era) is an unset period of time in Mencu's history that help better divide the different time periods of the world into clearer-set eras.While there are no set guidelines on how long or how short an Age can be, most of them last at least 2500 years or more, with some of the longer anomaly ages lasting upward of 4000 or even 5000 years. The 182nd Age is an example of this, currently lasting 4610 years as of ''The Crusade of Zulera''. Origins Timekeeping has been a part of Mencu's history since its creation, and while different cultures have sprung up over the years and ages, all of them agreed on a universal timekeeping system, including the Arakos. Ultimately, however, the concept of and Age was brought into practice in the 2nd Age, which at the time was referred to as the Age of the Jalenga, due to the appearance of said Jalenga marking and heralding the beginning of the age. However, by the year 0004, scribes and other record keepers began to refer to the Age of the Jalenga as the 2nd Age of Mencu, which was later shortened to the 2nd Age. As such, recording ages numerically became a trend ever since. The term "Age" truly cemented its place it Mencu's history after the advent of the Kumenza, which hailed the beginning of the 3rd Age. While the introduction or disappearance of a race of people was the reason for the first two new ages, this trend would not be used again until the 181st Age when the Jalenga disappeared. The ancestral Kasil and Vartiz faded gradually over history, and much more significant events occurred in their respective ages that warranted change. Names & Lengths Timekeeping Councils exist between most nations, including the orderly Arakos and the freewheeling Zaderei. While many of these races and cultures are often at odds with one another, this council exists as a neutral and apolitical entity that serves to keep consistent records across Mencu. Even the contentious Arakos who are often at war with many other countries, cooperate in this endeavour, for they too wish for an orderly world with well-recorded events. Naming Conventions While originally, ages were named after the event that caused the age to start, scribes and scholars quickly shortened these to the 1st and 2nd Ages. However, even as ages were numbered, they still had full/official names, to serve as records and reminders of what events caused their change. A name is given to an age only after it ends, with the Žaníma of the age's final year marking the last day of that age. Years in an age are always numbered with four digits, with even lowers years such as 35 or 648 being written 0035 and 0648, respectively. No age has ever lasted beyond 5200 years (let alone 9999 years), and as such, the need for a 5th digit in the year-numbering convention has never been necessary. However, were such an event to happen, it would likely simply be numbered 10000, 10001, 10002, etc. Lengths There is no set length for an Age to last, Role in the Series The events of the The Crest of Zabutur series all take place in the 182nd Age.